Should Bible be taught in schools?
Bill would allow elective courses on history, literature
By Yvonne Wenger
COLUMBIA - Proponents of a proposal to teach a Bible-based curriculum in South Carolina public schools say it could help students unlock American symbolism, decipher religious references in literature and open up a world of historical and cultural understanding.
Opponents view it as a back-door approach to teaching religion in schools, extending an open invitation for teachers to violate the separation of church and state.
The Senate bill would allow local school boards to decide whether to offer elective high school courses designed by the state Department of Education on the secular teaching of the Old and New Testaments.
'It's important that the children of our state have an understanding of the Bible,' said the bill's lead sponsor, Sen. Larry Grooms, R-Bonneau. 'It's the best-selling publication of all time.'
Christianity seeps into every aspect of American culture, Grooms said. For example, a devoted Internet community tries to untangle Easter eggs hidden in the ABC TV drama 'Lost,' many times leading fans back to the ancient pages of the Bible.
The bill is modeled after one passed last year by the Georgia Legislature and similar to proposals designed to meet constitutional standards being considered by several other states.
'This is a bad idea,' said Joe Conn, a spokesman for Americans United for Separation of Church and State, a nonpartisan organization based in Washington.
'There are dozens of different religious denominations that teach the Bible from different perspectives. It would be very difficult for a public school teacher to teach a course that would please everyone and be respectful of diversity in the community.'
All but three of South Carolina's state senators have signed on to the bill, which is awaiting review by the Senate Education Committee before it can move to the House of Representatives. The chairman of the House Education and Public Works Committee, Rep. Bob Walker, R-Landrum, said the bill likely would get backing there as well.
Still, lawmakers might need the strength of Samson to get the legislation passed into law this year. The Legislature is expected to adjourn for the summer in June, and procedural changes after May 1 make it difficult for newly introduced bills to pass. The bill could be revived in January, when lawmakers return for the second year of their two-year session.
Grooms said schools can offer classes on the Bible's history and literature now. But without statewide standards, many administrators are worried that offering such courses would open school districts to potential lawsuits, he said. Under his bill, the curriculum would be crafted at the state level, to ensure the courses would be taught in an objective manner.
Course requirements for major subjects are established at the state level, but elective classes are created locally, said Education Department spokesman Jim Foster. Some districts offer such classes.
'We don't have any major issue with the intent,' Foster said. '(But) we don't think the state should get into the business of designing curricula for local electives.'
Frank Wright, chairman of the Berkeley County School Board, and his Charleston County counterpart, Nancy Cook, said they would be open to the idea as long as it was offered as an elective. Both also said it would require public debate and extensive deliberation by the school boards.
Students could be better-served by classes offered on the religions of the world including introductions to Christianity, Judaism and Islam, said John Huddlestun, an associate professor of religious studies at the College of Charleston.
'You have to ask what's their motivation for introducing this; why only the Bible?' saidasked Huddlestun, who teaches courses on biblical studies, Jewish and Islamics traditions and related history on the ancient Middle East. 'Once you get in the classroom, how are you going to teach the class? You need well-trained teachers who will not teach it from any one perspective.'
Reach Yvonne M. Wenger at ywenger@postandcourier.com or 803-799-9051.
Reach Yvonne M. Wenger at ywenger@postandcourier.com or 803-799-9051.
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sweetz66 (anonymous) says...
This is something that should be done through the individual families. There are so many different religions today, plus there are some that don't believe in the lord, I for one am Baptist and raised my children the same way. Today, my son is an athiest and plans to allow his twins to usetheir own judgement when they get old enough to choose a relion or if they want to be athiast as well.
To have the school step in and teach this would not be right, the schools would only be able to teach one method and this would be unfair to the ones that study other beliefs or to the ones that do not study a religion at all.
May 15, 2007 at 11:43 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
bkeelin (anonymous) says...
People who are uninformed about the use of Biblical references throughout literature should really understand the context of the class. Throughout much of the classic literature that is already studied in today's schools, there are references to the Bible and or the historical events of the Bible. Archeology and secular historical documents all give credence to the Bible as a historical document. It is more than just a religious book. Some cite "separation of Church and state" based on what they have been told about our founding fathers. With research into the lives of the founding fathers, the fact that the supreme court opens it's court with a plea to God, Congress and state assemblies open their meetings with prayer to God, and our money is imprinted with "In God we Trust", it is hard to understand where the state is separated from the church. This class would help bring a deeper understanding of literature and history to an education system that certainly could benefit from not only the historical and literary truth but also the whole truth of the Bible.
May 15, 2007 at 12:49 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
1UP_Girl (anonymous) says...
So they want to teach the bible for the sole reason to "unlock American symbolism, decipher religious references in literature and open up a world of historical and cultural understanding"? They don't need to involve the public school system to achieve these goals -- students can achieve the same thing via internet resources such as google, wikipedia, etc or by, heaven forbid, picking up a bible and reading it themselves. Even better, there are classrooms in SC already that teach religion -- it's called private school. They do exist in this day and age...
May 15, 2007 at 1:08 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
melvinthebarbarian (anonymous) says...
Christians should read a little real history and not just the stories from their fairy-tale book. The Founding Fathers of our country had only to look at England's recent (for them) history to discover what happens when a society fails to keep church and state separated. During just five years of the reign of Mary Tudor (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marian_p...) some three hundred people died, many of them by being burned at the stake because they had the wrong religion.
It's clear what these Kristian fanatics in our assembly want: they want to force their views on non Christians.
Get them as kids and you'll have them for life, eh?
The Bible is lousy history. In many places it's just plain wrong (The Garden of Eden, the Flood, the alleged captivity of the Jews in Egypt). At any rate, there are much better texts with which to teach history. Texts based on research -- research that preceded the text and wasn't conjured up to justify it.
The Bible is lousy literature. The Lord of the Rings is a better story and the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is more relevant to modern life.
The Bible is a crappy guide to morality. At some points it instructs followers that it's ok to hold slaves (the Southern Baptist Conference was founded in 1846 to provide a Biblical justification for slavery), sell your kids and stone adulterers. One disciple has Jesus talking about peace and love, another has him swinging a big fiery sword and smiting everyone.
Any other text that was this poor would be quickly rejected by any honest educators. That's why the legislature feels that they must mandate exposure to the bible by law -- so that non-Christian kids can grow up to have a distorted sense of history, literature and morality.
May 15, 2007 at 1:12 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
jesusfish7 (anonymous) says...
I am a conservative Christian who works with the South Carolina public school system and I have no problem with the Bible being taught as an elective in our public schools.
I would like to make the observation that the issue is whether to teach the Bible class as an elective, which by definition means that the class is optional. If a student wants to take the class, they can; and if the student does not want to take the class, they don't have to. The purpose of the elective is to ensure that the students who want to learn about and be taught the Bible have that option, without forcing anyone else to hear it.
I am an American and I believe that every person is entitled to his or her opinion. To that end, every mature American has the responsibility to voice their opinion in a respectful and mature way. Please remember, your rights end where my rights begin, and vice versa.
This topic has nothing at all to do with "bible thumping fanatics...shoving their religion down our throats" (according to the previous user) since it is completely optional. What more, no teacher will be "forced" to teach it, since all teachers have the choice which electives they can/will teach; therefore only those teachers who have an interest in the topic will choose to teach it.
I am offended by the intolerance and the bigotry of some of the previous people who have posted comments on this topic and I have suggested removal of their comments. I am not one of your so-called "bible thumping fanatics...shoving their religion down our throats" and I deem such bigoted comments as religious intolerance and discrimination.
I am also offended by the lengthy disqualification of the Bible as a reliable source for anything (along with the implied comment that any educated person would immediately reject the Bible). This discourse implies that I as well as all other Christians are too stupid to know better. These comments I deem also to be religious intolerance and discrimination.
Why do people need to create religious intolerance where it does not exist? Offering an optional class is in no way intolerant, and in reality the way some people are responding (as noted above) is the real intolerance. Why is it that when a person makes any kind of Christian religious expression in public they are attacked for intolerance, yet people who attack Christian believers are not labelled as intolerant? This is a very backwards society.
May 15, 2007 at 4:58 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
b6696 (anonymous) says...
To rongodzilla - learn your American history. One founding father in a letter to someone stated that church and state should be separate. Our founding fatherS, founded this country for religious freedom, freedom from taxation, freedom of speech, freedom to assemble, etc. Thanks to those freedoms those God fearing men established, you are able to post your opinion without fear of retribution and I am free to voice my opinion on your lack of knowledge. Amen? Amen. Oh yes, give our students the freedom to choose their electives, another freedom given to them by our Godly founding fathers, offer Bible as an elective taught by a knowledgeable person. Also offer the Koran, the Torah, and any other religious writings you might want to offer. They have the right to choose. Of course they already learn about those other religious writings don't they.
May 16, 2007 at 4:09 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
b6696 (anonymous) says...
Addition - There is an obvious need to be teaching the Bible in school. Several comments posted here show a definite lack of knowledge of what they are talking about. They do not know their history, they do not know what the Bible says, and they do not know what the actual legislature is about. Get informed then make intelligent comments.
To sweetz66 - you are in my prayers.
May 16, 2007 at 4:19 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
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